After nearly 1,000 miles on the road looking at properties, several things – some of which we didn’t quite expect – have come into laser focus.
Cool, unexpected neighborhoods. As we’ve hit the trail searching for properties for our buyer-clients, we’ve discovered neighborhoods we didn’t know were there. We are especially attuned to mid-century design and there are wonderful enclaves of one-level, modernist living all over town; East Nashville, West Nashville and Madison have lots of these houses. Well-built, well-priced and convenient to town.
White-hot market. We knew this, but didn’t really know it until we experienced it. Rock-bottom interest rates, tight inventory, and booming population growth have lots of people in the market competing for the relatively few properties for sale. It can be pretty tough to find and buy a house these days. Those who manage to do so are prequalified for a loan, ready to go looking at the drop of a hat, and willing to consider list price a baseline – and perhaps offer more.
Cookies make everything better. This has proved true as we’ve done dozens of drive-bys and inspections, with and without clients. We began bringing cookies because looking at houses can be tiring and we want our clients to have something delicious to associate with the drive time. We found that what’s good for the client is good for the realtor, and now we have them with us all the time. Favorites so far are the cherry-truffle chocolate-covered sandwiches and the Canadian maple leaf cookies. We’ll keep looking for and serving up the most tasty, exotic and memorable ones we can find.
We’re sure there will be more lessons learned as we wear out our tires looking at real estate. You’ll hear about them here.